I have noticed that right below the colored ring that is under the gas cap there are some scratches that might rust if not taken care of, however I can not touch them up properly unless I take off that ring. When I open the gas cap it looks like it could be pulled out but I don't want to break anything and can't seem to find anything on how to remove it.

 

Actually on closer examination it looks like the clear coat below is gas cap ring is peeling off, rather than there being a scratch...

 

Hi Jckol,

I recently removed this ring. I don't have any detailed instructions of how to get it out because I just pulled it out. It was scary, especially when it came off it made a SNAP sound. But I checked that all the clips were still intact and it was all good. I don't know if having rust on the ring may break some of the clips, but like I said, I just pulled it back until it came off. That's all I got for advice, hope it helps!

 

Everything around the filler cap is plastic so rust shouldn't be a problem. That ring may be getting a little fragile on a 2008 model, so be careful. it's held on by clips at about the 2 and 4 o'clock position. When I removed mine, I used a hooked tool made of a piece of coat hanger to lift the clips so I could lift the ring out of the recess without using any real force.